Mzimu History

Before my husband, Dr. Roger J. Reitman, received a Fulbright grant to teach in Malawi, Africa in 1993, I had never heard of the sub-Saharan country. After living there for two years (1993-94 and again in 2003-04) our family was changed forever. As Roger says, it was a watershed, a time we mark our lives by—before Malawi and after Malawi.

In 1993-94 we lived in a house part way up the Zomba Plateau. Roger taught at the University of Malawi and I took care of our boys, then 3 and 6 years old. Most of our friends were either other ex-patriots or professors from the University.

After we returned home Roger and I decided that we would return to Malawi as soon as we could. By 2003 we had saved enough money for the whole family to travel and live over there for a year. Roger received a sabbatical from Hood College (http://www.hood.edu). We were able to rent a house located outside Namadzi.

From this location we were able to walk to many villages. Two Hood College students joined us for 2 months at the beginning of our stay. We were lucky to find an excellent translator, and he and Roger and the students walked to villages, where Roger interviewed amfumu (chiefs). Roger's main interest of study is the effects of structural adjustment policies on the people in the villages. When the University opened mid-year year Roger volunteered to teach a course. Our sons were allowed to sit in on the class.

I began to tag along when Roger went out to villages. My interest is mainly in art and talking to women about their lives, so I began to interview women as well as take their photos. With permission I began to record their stories. I was able to return to Malawi in June 2005 without my family to gather more stories, write more essays and take more photos. Each woman gave me written permission to reprint and publish their photographs and stories.

I was impressed that the women knew a lot about our lives in the First World. I had long been amazed (and sometimes annoyed) at how little we know about their lives. I felt called to act as a bridge between the two cultures. Most of us don't know the day to day hardships of life in a Malawian village. We don't live in tiny brick houses or mud huts with thatched roofs. We don't have to carry huge buckets of water on our heads or search for firewood to heat water with which to bathe, cook our food and wash our clothes. We know that AIDS is a big problem there, but we are often unaware that preventable and curable ailments, such as malaria and diarrhea, cause more misery and death there.

In contrast, the people who live in the villages in Malawi know very well how we live. They know that we have running water and electricity in our houses, that most of us have cars and clothes and enough food for our families. They know that we have way more than one pair of shoes, that we have TV's and stoves, telephones and cell phones. They know that we have access to healthcare and education. They know that life is not as tenuous for us. They know that if it doesn't rain we might not be able to wash our cars, but we will still eat.

Malawians are family oriented. What I heard over and over again was that they want the same things for their families that we want for ours. They want to be able to provide for their children—to feed them, to clothe them and to send them to school. They want to know their children will have a good education and employment when they are grown.

We hear so much in the news about the sad things—the poverty and the diseases. But the people there have many joys as well. Maybe you have to live there to understand this. The things we think of as blessings are sometimes not blessings at all. The people of Malawi, poor as some are, are blessed in ways I often envy. My hope is that you will learn something about the beauty and joy of Malawi on this site. I also hope that you feel moved to support the work we are doing there.

Zikomo kwambiri,

dana